Article carrier

ABSTRACT

An article carrier for primary packages having outwardly bowed sides of barrel-like configuration includes spaced top, bottom and side walls interconnected to form a tubular structure adapted for disposition about the primary packages arranged in rows in rectilinear relationship. An insert is provided with a pair of article separating elements interconnected with each other and disposed transversely within the carrier between pairs of adjacent primary packages disposed in different rows. The insert is configured so as to be formable from a minimum of material and is configured so that adequate article separation is afforded between adjacent articles in the same row of articles irrespective of the angular disposition of the insert with respect to a transverse axis of the carrier.

United States Patent 91 Wood 1 1 ARTICLE CARRIER [75] lnventor: Prentice.1. Wood, Jonesboro, Ga.

[73] Assignee: The Mead Corporation, Dayton,

Ohio

[22] Filed: April 29, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 138,564

[52] US. Cl. ..206/65 E, 229/42 [51 Int. Cl ..B65d 77/26, 865d 5/48 [58]Field of Search ..206/65 E; 229/42, DIG. 9; D9/136; 217/32 [56]References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,156,377 11/1964 Wysocki..206/65 E X D21 1,711 7/1968 Carlson ..D9/136 1,174,844 3/1916Fukumura. ..217/32 650,183 5/1900 Lindlcy ..229/DIG. 9 3,203,584 8/1965Forrer ..229/40 X 3,416,654 12/1968 Plateringen ..ZO6/65 E 3,042,2837/1962 DePaul ..206/65 E X Feb. 6, 1973 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS147,740 11/1954 Sweden ..206/65 E Primary Examiner-Leonard SummerAttorneyWalter M. Rodgers 5 7 ABSTRACT An article carrier for primarypackages having outwardly bowed sides of barrel-like configurationincludes spaced top, bottom and side walls interconnected to form atubular structure: adapted for disposition about the primary packagesarranged in rows in rectilinear relationship. An insert is provided witha pair of article separating elements interconnected with each other anddisposed transversely within the carrier between pairs of adjacentprimary packages disposed in different rows. The insert is configured soas to be formable from a minimum of material and is configured so thatadequate article separation is afforded between adjacent articles in thesame row of articles irrespective of the angular disposition of theinsert with respect to a transverse axis of the carrier.

4 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PAIENTEDFEB 6 I973 SHEET 10F 2 INVENTORPRsmxce J. W000 AIIOR'NEY PATENTEDFEB' 6 Ian SHEET 20F 2 FIG, 4

FIG. 5

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IIJVENTOIR PReNncE J. wow #1 m 7% W A'I' IoRNET ARTICLE CARRIER Knownarticle carriers of the open-ended tubular type are provided witharticle separating inserts which extend from the bottom wall to the topwall and which extend the full distance between the side walls. Whilesuch inserts provide adequate article separation, they are particularlywasteful in the use of material.

Where primary packages are of the barrel type wherein the side walls bowoutwardly, it is possible to provide adequate separation by simplypreventing collision of the articles at their tangent points. Inconnection with such primary packages, it is not necessary to utilizeinserts which extend completely from the bottom to the top wall of thecarrier and which extend transversely between the side walls for thefull distance by which these walls are spaced apart.

According to this invention an improved economical insert is providedfor use in an article carrier for barreltype primary packages arrangedin two rows in rectilinear relationship with respect to each other. Aninsert constructed according to this invention may be placed in atransverse disposition within the carrier between adjacent pairs ofpackaged articles disposed in different rows and, when constructedaccording to the invention, the insert may be shifted about within thepackage by a substantial angular shift without impairing its efficacy asan article separating device. Furthermore inserts constructed accordingto the invention may be formed of an absolute minimum of material. In

its broadest sense the insert must be formed so that irrespective of itsangular disposition about a transverse axis of the package, adequatearticle separation is always provided at the point of contact betweenadjacent articles in the same row of articles.

For a better understanding of the invention reference may be had to thefollowing detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view of anarticle carrier of the type to which the invention is particularlyapplicable;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the main blank used to form the package shownin FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an insert constructed according to thisinvention and incorporated within the package depicted in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the package depicted in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 5-5 as indicatedin FIG. 4 and showing the insert disposed in one extreme angularposition;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 but which shows the insert disposedin a horizontal position and in which FIG. 7 is a plan view of twoinsert blanks which shows the nesting thereof.

In the drawing the numeral 1 designates the top panel of the carrierwhile the numerals 2 and 3 designate finger-gripping knockout tabs ofconventional construction. The numerals 4, 5,6, 7, 8 and 9 depictdownwardly foldable article separating tabs which provide separationbetween adjacent articles in different rows and which afford aperturesthrough which the necks of the bottles B protrude.

Side wall 10 is foldably joined to top wall 1 along a foldline 11 whileside wall 12 is foldably joined to top wall 1 along foldline 13. Bottomsloping panel 14 is foldably joined to side wall 10 along foldline 15and bottom sloping panel 16 is foldably joined to side wall 12 alongfoldline 17.

For receiving the bottom portions of the bottles B, a plurality ofapertures are formed in sloping panels 14 and these are designated bythe numerals 18, 19 and 20. In like fashion similar apertures 21, 22 and23 are formed within sloping panel 16. The bottom of the carrier is acomposite panel made up of a lap panel 24 which is foldably joined tosloping panel 14 along foldline 25 and a lap panel 26 which is foldablyjoined to sloping panel 16 along foldline 27.

In order to tighten the blank of FIG. 2 about a group of articles,suitablemachine elements not shown are arranged to enter the tighteningapertures formed in lap panel 24 and designated by the numerals 28, 29and 30. These machine elements draw lap panel 24 toward lap panel. 26and in opposition to machine elements disposed within tighteningapertures 31, 32 and 33 formed within lap panel 26.

After the blank is tightened about the article group, it is secured bymeans of locking tabs 34, 35, 36 and 37 which are driven throughapertures defined by retaining tabs 38, 39, 40 and 41 to secure thepackage about an article group as shown for example in FIG. 1.

The arrangement of FIG. 1 utilizes end panels designated in the drawingsby the numerals 42 and 43. These panelsare foldably joined to the endedges of top panel 1 along foldlines 44 and 45.. End panel 42 is held ina vertical position by means of a pair of anchoring panels 46 and 47which are foldably joined to the end edges B2 side walls 10 and 12 alongfoldlines 48 and 49 in cooperation with web panels 50 and 51 which arefoldably joined to end panel 42 along foldlines 52 and 53 respectivelyand to anchoring panels 46 and 47 respectively along foldlines 54 and55.

In like fashion end panel 43 is adjoined to web panels 56 and 57 alongfoldlines 58 and 59 respectively. Anchoring panels 60 and 61 areinterconnected with web panels 56 and 57 by foldlines 62 and 63respectively. Anchoring panels 60 and 61 are foldably joined to sidewalls 10 and 12 respectively along foldlines 60a and 61a. When thecarrier is assembled about the article group as shown in FIG. 1, theanchoring panels 46, 47, 60 and 61 are folded into flat face contactingrelationship with their associated side walls 10 and 12. By virtue ofthe web panels 50, 51, S6 and 57 the end panels 42 and 43 are held in avertical position as is well known.

For the purpose of separating'pairs of articles such as B1 and B2 fromadjacent articles such as B3 and B4 disposed in different rows, theinsert shown in FIG. 3 is provided according to this invention. Thisinsert is generally designated by the numeral 64 and comprises a pair ofarticle separating elements designated generally by the numerals 65 and66 which are interconnected as indicated generally at 67 at adjacentcorners thereof. These article separating elements are From FIGS. 4, and6, it is apparent that the insert such as 64 is disposed in a transverserelationship with respect to the carrier. Furthermore from FIG. 5 it isapparent that the insert 64 may be shifted about in a counter-clockwisedirection about its center point to occupy the position depicted in FIG.5 and when so shifted, the insert affords adequate bottle separation.This fact is because the transverse dimension D of each articleseparating element is sufficiently great to extend from the top orbottom of the carrier to the point of tangency designated by the numeralY in FIG. 4.

In FIG. 6 the insert 64 is shown in a horizontal position in whichadequate article separation is provided due to the fact that the insertextends above the point of tangency between adjacent articles indifferent rows such as between articles B1 and B3 and bottles B2 and B4.

While not shown in the drawings, it is obvious that the insert 64 may berotated in a clockwise direction about its center point to occupy aposition opposite that depicted in FIG. 5 and when so shifted adequatebottle separation is provided according to the invention.

From FIGS. 3, 5 and 6 it is apparent that the insert 64 is formed of apair of article separating elements 65 and 66 interconnected at adjacentcorners in the region designated generally by the numeral 67.

It is also apparent that the corners of the article separation elements65 and 66 are cut away as designated for example by the numerals 68, 69and 70 to form a septenary configuration for article separating element65. In like fashion corners 71, 72 and 73 of article separating element66 are cut away to form a similar configuration for element 66. Thus itis apparent that the cutaway corners such as 68-73 inclusive facilitatethe seating of the separation elements 65 and 66 at the variouspositions such as are shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 when dropped at randombetween adjacent articles.

While the particular nesting of the insert 64 with respect to acorresponding insert 64A is depicted in FIG. 7, this particular nestingrelationship is not deemed to be broadly novel per se but is deemed toconstitute a novel facet of the invention whereby a most economicalconfiguration is provided for the insert 64 which virtually eliminatesall waste. In FIG. 7 one insert is designated by the numeral 64 and anadjacent nesting insert is shown in solid lines and is designated by thenumeral 64A.

From the above description it is apparent that according to theinvention, an improved insert such as is designated in the drawings bythe numeral 64 is provided which may be constructed from a minimum ofmaterial and which affords adequate bottle separation between pairs ofbottles in different rows in a carrier for two rows of articles whichare of barrel-shaped configuration.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

l. A carrier for round articles arranged in two rows and each having anoutwardly bowed arcuate barrellike profile, said carrier comprisingspaced top, bottom and side walls foldably adjoined to form a tubularstrucbetween adjacent pairs of articles in different rows of articles,said insert being sufficiently small in its transverse and verticaldimensions as to accommodate vertical movement of each end thereofrelative to the other end and having two article separating elementsinterconnected with each other and each being constructed so that anytransverse dimension thereof is at least slightly greater than thedistance from the top or bottom wall of said tubular structurevertically to the nearest point of contact between the bowed side ofadjacent articles whichever is greater and said insert being configuredfor side by side nesting with another similar insert whereby articleseparation is provided irrespective of the angular disposition of saidinsert relative to the transverse axis of the carrier and said insertbeing formed of a minimum quantity of material.

2. A carrier according to claim 1 wherein said article separatingelements are of a generally square configuration with truncated cornersand wherein the elements of each pair of associated article separatingelements are interconnected at common corners with their imaginarydiagonals alined with each other.

3. A carrier according to claim 2 wherein opposite side edges of each ofsaid article separating elements are substantially horizontal when saidinsert is angularly disposed and with opposite edges thereof in closeproximity to said top andbottom walls of said tubular structure.

4. A carrier for round articles arranged in two rows and each having anoutwardly bowed arcuate barrellike profile, said carrier comprisingspaced top, bottom and side walls foldably adjoined to form a tubularstructure, and an article separating insert transversely disposed withinsaid tubular structure and interposed between adjacent pairs of articlesin different rows of articles, said insert being sufficiently small inits transverse and vertical dimensions as to accommodate verticalmovement of each end thereof relative to the other end and having twoarticle separating elements interconnected with each other and eachbeing constructed so that any transverse dimension thereof is at leastslightly greater than the distance from the top or bottom wall of saidtubular structure vertically to the nearest point of contact between thebowed side of adjacent articles whichever is greater and said insertbeing configured for side by side nesting with another similar insertwhereby article separation is provided irrespective of the angulardisposition of said insert relative to the transverse axis of thecarrier and said insert being formed of a minimum quantity of material,said article separating elements being of a generally squareconfiguration and the elements of each pair of associated articleseparating elements being interconnected at common corners with theirimaginary diagonals alined with each other, and opposite side edges ofeach of said article separating elements being substantially horizontalwhen the insert is angularly disposed and with opposite edges thereof inclose proximity to'said top and bottom walls of said tubular structure.

1. A carrier for round articles arranged in two rows and each having anoutwardly bowed arcuate barrel-like profile, said carrier comprisingspaced top, bottom and side walls foldably adjoined to form a tubularstructure, and an article separating insert transversely disposed withinsaid tubular structure and interposed between adjacent pairs of articlesin different rows of articles, said insert being sufficiently small inits transverse and vertical dimensions as to accommodate verticalmovement of each end thereof relative to the other end and having twoarticle separating elements interconnected with each other and eachbeing constructed so that any transverse dimension thereof is at leastslightly greater than the distance from the top or bottom wall of saidtubular structure vertically to the nearest point of contact between thebowed side of adjacent articles whichever is greater and said insertbeing configured for side by side nesting with another similar insertwhereby article separation is provided irrEspective of the angulardisposition of said insert relative to the transverse axis of thecarrier and said insert being formed of a minimum quantity ofmaterial.
 1. A carrier for round articles arranged in two rows and eachhaving an outwardly bowed arcuate barrel-like profile, said carriercomprising spaced top, bottom and side walls foldably adjoined to form atubular structure, and an article separating insert transverselydisposed within said tubular structure and interposed between adjacentpairs of articles in different rows of articles, said insert beingsufficiently small in its transverse and vertical dimensions as toaccommodate vertical movement of each end thereof relative to the otherend and having two article separating elements interconnected with eachother and each being constructed so that any transverse dimensionthereof is at least slightly greater than the distance from the top orbottom wall of said tubular structure vertically to the nearest point ofcontact between the bowed side of adjacent articles whichever is greaterand said insert being configured for side by side nesting with anothersimilar insert whereby article separation is provided irrEspective ofthe angular disposition of said insert relative to the transverse axisof the carrier and said insert being formed of a minimum quantity ofmaterial.
 2. A carrier according to claim 1 wherein said articleseparating elements are of a generally square configuration withtruncated corners and wherein the elements of each pair of associatedarticle separating elements are interconnected at common corners withtheir imaginary diagonals alined with each other.
 3. A carrier accordingto claim 2 wherein opposite side edges of each of said articleseparating elements are substantially horizontal when said insert isangularly disposed and with opposite edges thereof in close proximity tosaid top and bottom walls of said tubular structure.